Kinsey Gardner
The aroma of reheated fish sticks overwhelms students entering the cafeteria on any given day. Overstuffed trashcans line the center walkway and students pile inside with hopes of accessing the fish sticks before the line becomes too long. A single table sits empty and ready for students who are being punished. This punishment: lunch duty.
Cafeteria duty is a penalty for students who receive an excess amount of tardies, a second cell phone violation, skipping, or other small issues. Students are required to sit at an isolated table away from their friends and they have to clean up trash after lunch.
"We want to keep kids in the classroom as much as possible so if it is something minor that we do not have to suspend a student for or put them in ISS, we would rather keep them in class," assistant principal Barton Thorne said.
Although cafeteria duty should be successful due to the degrading aspects that come with it, it is ultimately not effective.
"Students just don’t care - that sounds harsh, but it is what it is. We can't ignore behavior just because kids are unresponsive to the intervention," Thorne said.
While this seems unrealistic, Thorne’s observations are true.
“I didn’t do it; I would rather get ISS,” freshman Mario Smith said.
Even though Thorne believes that lunch duty is unsuccessful, the punishment has benefited other students. It taught seniors Eli Pepper and Molly Brinkley to take responsibility for their actions. One student even enjoyed it.
“In the beginning it was depressing because I was scared of what was going to happen to me. Overall, it was a lovely experience and I would do it again any day,” senior Morgan Hughes said.
Not everyone agrees.
“I’ve had lunch duty, and I think it’s demeaning and humiliating because not only do you have to clean up other people’s trash, but you are completely isolated from everyone,” senior Olivia Kanadet said.
With differing opinions on the effectiveness of lunch duty, the question remains whether it will still remain next year.
The aroma of reheated fish sticks overwhelms students entering the cafeteria on any given day. Overstuffed trashcans line the center walkway and students pile inside with hopes of accessing the fish sticks before the line becomes too long. A single table sits empty and ready for students who are being punished. This punishment: lunch duty.
Cafeteria duty is a penalty for students who receive an excess amount of tardies, a second cell phone violation, skipping, or other small issues. Students are required to sit at an isolated table away from their friends and they have to clean up trash after lunch.
"We want to keep kids in the classroom as much as possible so if it is something minor that we do not have to suspend a student for or put them in ISS, we would rather keep them in class," assistant principal Barton Thorne said.
Although cafeteria duty should be successful due to the degrading aspects that come with it, it is ultimately not effective.
"Students just don’t care - that sounds harsh, but it is what it is. We can't ignore behavior just because kids are unresponsive to the intervention," Thorne said.
While this seems unrealistic, Thorne’s observations are true.
“I didn’t do it; I would rather get ISS,” freshman Mario Smith said.
Even though Thorne believes that lunch duty is unsuccessful, the punishment has benefited other students. It taught seniors Eli Pepper and Molly Brinkley to take responsibility for their actions. One student even enjoyed it.
“In the beginning it was depressing because I was scared of what was going to happen to me. Overall, it was a lovely experience and I would do it again any day,” senior Morgan Hughes said.
Not everyone agrees.
“I’ve had lunch duty, and I think it’s demeaning and humiliating because not only do you have to clean up other people’s trash, but you are completely isolated from everyone,” senior Olivia Kanadet said.
With differing opinions on the effectiveness of lunch duty, the question remains whether it will still remain next year.